The Prithvi Chronicles

My great-grandfather T.S. Narayana Shastri wrote Tamil and Sanskrit plays in the early 20th century that were produced by the Madras theatre...

My great-grandfather T.S. Narayana Shastri wrote Tamil and Sanskrit plays in the early 20th century that were produced by the Madras theatre company Suguna Vilasa Sabha Dr S. Radhakrishnan would walk miles to see them as a young student. All the generations that followed adored theatre and acted whenever life let them. They still pine deep down for the smell of greasepaint, the glare of footlights and the dark, expectant hush of the audience waiting for the curtains to go up. Especially, they miss the delicious, addictive terror of the moment they stepped out of the wings and got out there to show them.

I mention this only with the thought that the history of that one little theatre-mad family is lost and it must be just one of the many that kept 8216;native8217; theatre going all over India, especially in the three old Presidencies of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. But while their stories died out in regional byways, one Peshawari family8217;s did not. This family strode the national stage, mastered the movies as international legends and now owns and operates the only theatre institution of its kind in India: a temple to three generations of theatre passion, a crucible for new talent and ideas.

It is the chronicle of this remarkable family who embody and transcend all our histories on such a splendid scale that second-gen Prithviwallah Shashi Kapoor so lovingly documents with the able help of film critic Deepa Gahlot. Reading Kapoor8217;s beautiful book stuffed with rare archival pictures, the reason for this family8217;s success becomes clear. They were totally focused on acting. The specifics differ, but their story echoes that of legendary dancers, scientists, painters or a writer like V.S. Naipaul: when you give yourself totally to something, it usually gives back after many cruel tests of endurance to check if you are worthy of its gifts.

Besides this stunning authenticity, Kapoor8217;s book scores another huge plus over the many shoddy artists8217; books unleashed on a public hungry for quality: it reads well. Halellujah, after years, an Indian artists8217; story that pays its dues to the separate craft of writing!

Read poignant stories like how a penniless Prithviraj Kapoor fell ill in his dingy room in Bombay8217;s redlight area. On his fourth fevered day when he lay hungry and untended, a neighbouring prostitute shyly brought him a meal, fearing he8217;d reject it. Instead, he thanked her profusely for her kindness and made her his rakhi sister. It is this grand emotional honesty you thrill to, in an age of little, pinch-hearted men worried about 8216;society8217;.

Pritiviraj Kapoor was the first to rebel against the prevailing studio system and pay exclusive actors monthly salaries. With a Western film on Alexander currently creating controversy, it8217;s interesting to remember that it was Sohrab Modi8217;s Sikander in 1941 that put Prithviraj Kapoor up there on top. To prepare himself for the role, he sent his family back home to Peshawar and pumped iron while working on characterisation. Modi played Porus to his Sikander and Prithviraj was so convincing that schoolbooks began printing his picture as Alexander the Great. Again, as Mughal-e-Azam reduxes in its coloured avatar, it8217;s fascinating to see a visual of the original 1960 ticket and learn that, sadly, Prithviraj8217;s majestic boom as Akbar cost him dearly in voice, health and career.

And this is just a peek at the Prithviraj stories. There are also the Jennifer-Shashi stories at first, she thought he was gay, the Kendal family Shakespearewallah stories, the building of Prithvi Theatre, Jennifer Kapoor8217;s jottings on theatre design Shashi and Jennifer always bought tickets for every play they saw at Prithvi and Sanjna Kapoor8217;s now total involvement with the resuscitated Prithvi Theatre.

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This week as Prithvi Theatre concludes yet another Delhi season and this book is released, it8217;s lovely to think that such an interesting story was played out in the course of our own lives as entertainment-mad Indians.